Polar bear diet | WWF Polar bear diet Polar bears are the top predator in the Arctic marine ecosystem. Because the polar bear's body requires a diet based on large amounts of seal fat, they are the most carnivorous member of the bear family. Food can be hard to come by for polar bears for much of the year. The bear puts on most of its yearly fat reserves between late April and mid-July to maintain its weight in the lean seasons. The food-free season can last 3 to 4 months -- or even longer in areas like Canada's Hudson Bay. As the Arctic warms due to climate change, the ice pack is forming later in the season, and bears must wait longer to begin hunting again. SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE Stay informed with WWF's monthly Arctic newsletter. And visit us on: Twitter | Youtube WHAT DO POLAR BEARS EAT? Seals Polar bear with seal carcass. © iStockPhoto / Karel Delvoye Seals are a particularly energy-rich food source, especially for hungry mothers and their growing cubs. Polar bears can devour huge amounts of fat from seals when this prey is abundant.

Polar bears largely eat ringed and bearded seals, but depending upon their location, they may eat harp, hooded and ribbon seal. A 121-pound seal can provide 8 days worth of energy - but the bear needs to eat much more in order to store up reserves. When there are plenty of seals, adult polar bears only eat the fat, leaving the carcass for scavengers such as foxes, ravens and younger bears. A ringed seal swimming in waters off Svalbard, Norway. © WWF / Sindre Kinnerød Did you know? Don't move! The polar bear often relies on "still hunting" -- patiently waiting next to a hole in the ice until it senses a surfacing seal. Hunting by smell Using its sense of smell, the polar bear will locate seal birth lairs, and then break through the lair's roof in order to catch its prey. Carcasses Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) carrying the remains of a seal carcass, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. © Steve Morello / WWF Polar bears use their sense of smell to detect a carcass from nearly 20 miles away.

They will happily feed on the carcasses of beluga whales, grey whales, walruses, narwhals and bowhead whales when available. Did you know? Learning to hunt The adolescent polar bear often has to scavenge on the carcasses of other bears' kills while learning to develop its own hunting skills. When food is scarce Polar bear scavenging at a dump in Arviat, Nunavut, Canada. WWF has worked with the community of Arviat to reduce conflict between polar bears and people. © Elisabeth Kruger / WWF Polar bears may attempt to find alternate prey on shore, including muskox, reindeer, small rodents, waterfowl, shellfish, fish, eggs, kelp, berries and even human garbage. Bears attracted to communities by garbage or stored food may come into conflict with people . Occasionally, the bears will hunt beluga whales and adult walrus. Watch: A polar bear in Russia's Laptev Sea sizes up a herd of walruses for a meal. Did you know? Efficient digestion The bear's digestive system absorbs approximately 84% of the protein and 97% of the fat it consumes.

4.4 pounds of fat Hunting - Polar Bears International Polar Bears International Hunting Polar bears rely sea ice to find and catch most of their prey. Polar bears are at the top of the food chain in the Arctic. Aside from humans, the only threat to polar bears are other polar bears. Polar Bears 101 The Ringed Seal Their main prey is the ringed seal—full of fat and high in calories. In fall, a seal cuts ten to fifteen breathing holes (known as aglus by Canadian Inuit) in the ice, using the sharp claws on its fore flippers. Seals keep their breathing holes open all winter long, even in ice up to two meters (six feet) thick. They surface about every five to fifteen minutes at one of the holes or use air pockets trapped under the ice when available. Polar bears attack by waiting for seals to breathe at the openings. They locate them with their powerful sense of smell and wait for the seals to emerge. Polar bears have to be smart and patient because the wait can be long—sometimes hours, or even days. © Daniel J.

Cox/ NaturalExposures.com Bears also stalk ringed seals that are basking on ice by taking advantage of their sleep-wake rhythms. The bear crawls slowly forward and freezes in place when the animal raises its head. At about six meters (20 feet) feet from the seal, the bear uses its explosive speed to pounce, killing the seal before it can escape back into the sea. © Daniel J. Cox/ NaturalExposures.com Dependence on Sea Ice A polar bear’s hunting and eating patterns depend completely on sea ice. Why? Because ringed seals depend on it—and ringed seals are the only food source with a high enough fat content and calories to keep a polar bear healthy. Scientists have found that when polar bears dine exclusively on seal fat, their cholesterol levels drop lower than those of fasting bears, likely due to the protective quality of the omega-3 fatty acids found in the seals. In summer when ice floes retreat, most polar bears follow the ice, sometimes traveling hundreds of kilometers to stay near their food source. Polar bears who decide to come ashore face lean times in most of the Arctic. Catching seals in open water is no easy task. © Daniel J.

Cox/ NaturalExposures.com Still hunting. Still hunting is the most common method of hunting year-round. The polar bear remains motionless beside a breathing hole or lead edge waiting for a seal to surface. When a seal surfaces, the polar bear bites onto the head or upper body, then flips the entire seal onto the ice. Still hunting usually takes less than one hour, but polar bears will wait much longer. Stalking on land. Stalking is a hunting method used when seals haul out on sea ice. Once spotted, the seal is slowly and steadily stalked by the polar bear. At 15 to 30 m (49-98 ft.) away, the polar bear suddenly charges the seal. With its claws or teeth, the polar bear grabs the seal before the seal can leave the ice. Aquatic stalk. The aquatic stalk is a method also used to hunt seals hauled out on sea ice. The polar bear swims toward a hauled-out seal. Once the polar bear reaches the ice edge, the bear quickly emerges from the water and grabs the seal with its claws or teeth. Stalking birth lairs.

Stalking ringed seals at their birth lairs is a hunting method polar bears use in spring, when ringed seals give birth to their pups. Ringed seal birth lairs are caves built under snow drifts next to a hole in the ice. The snow drifts are on stable sea ice attached to land. Once a polar bear identifies a birth lair, it slowly and quietly positions itself next to the lair. If a polar bear smells or hears a seal in the lair, it slowly raises up on its hind legs and crashes down with its front paws to break through the lair's roof. To break the roof's hard surface, several tries are sometimes needed, which may allow the seal to escape into the water. This method is most commonly used by polar bear females with cubs under one year old. Mother seals and pups have the high fat content needed for hungry polar bear mothers and their growing cubs. Male polar bears that may attack young polar bear cubs don't normally hunt seals in birth lairs. Birth lairs are usually on sea ice attached to land, allowing young cubs (who have little protective fat) to avoid crossing water. Eating.

Once a seal is captured, a polar bear bites it several times on the head and neck to disable it before dragging it several meters from the water to feed. A polar bear eats the skin and blubber first, then the meat. Polar bears often stop to wash during feeding, using water nearby or rubbing in the snow. Polar bears don't always eat the entire kill. Carcass remains are scavenged by other bears, arctic foxes, and gulls. Polar bear - Philadelphia Zoo Polar bear Coldilocks: Female, born December 13, 1980 at Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY. She arrived at the Zoo on October 6, 1981. She weighs over 450 lbs. Where to find me in the Zoo Bear Country Fun Facts Polar bears are inactive about 87% of the time, living off stored fat. They can go into a "walking hibernation" as a survival mechanism when food sources become scarce. They keep their eyes open, their nostrils shut and their ears flattened to their heads while swimming and they can stay underwater up to two minutes.

They're capable of leaping out of the water seven to eight feet to catch seals or other prey. Ask an Expert Ask an expert on our Docent Council! Polar bears have very good eyesight and hearing although their sense of smell is their most highly developed sense. These remarkable bears have a transparent eyelid (nictitating membrane) that work like a pair of sunglasses filtering out the excessive brightness of snow and sun. They also work as waterproof goggles underwater. Polar bears have 42 teeth and are well adapted to their carnivorous diet. Their canines are the largest and longest of any other bear. They use their extremely sharp carnassials and molars for shearing and biting food. Longevity In zoos, polar bears may have a life expectancy of 23 years. Behavior Polar bears are solitary animals and mating occurs during the summer season. At the end of the polar winter, which is in March or April, females give birth to between one and four cubs who stay with their mother for one or two years. Because of the Arctic or midnight sun, polar bears are active any time of the day or night.

On bitterly cold days, they might dig a hole, curl up and even cover their noses with their paws to keep warm. In warmer weather they might also burrow into the earth to keep cool. Adaptations Contrary to popular belief, the polar bear's fur neither acts like a fiber optic nor "solar heating" system. The UV light that is absorbed by the keratin guard hairs is limited to the outer (peripheral) inch of the hair shaft, and is quickly dissipated back to the ambient cooler surroundings and not transmitted to the bear's skin. Considering their large size, polar bears are surprisingly fast. On land, they can outrun a reindeer for short distances, moving at speeds of 25 mph. In water, polar bears can swim for considerable distances at a speed of up to six miles per hour. They paddle with their front feet and use their back feet as rudders. Size Polar bears are usually 7-8.5 feet (2-2.6 meters) long. Weight Polar Bear | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants SPECIES: maritimus ABOUT Baby, it's cold outside!

Perhaps no other animal symbolizes the frozen tundra regions of the Earth as do polar bears. They live on ice and snow, but that’s not a problem—these bears have some cool ways to stay warm! An outer coat of long guard hairs that stick together when wet protects a dense, thick undercoat of fur. On land, water rolls right off of the guard hairs. Even though polar bears look white, their hair is really made of clear, hollow tubes filled with air. Scarring or residue on the fur can cause the “white” fur to appear to human eyes as cream colored, yellow, or even pink in the Arctic light. Fat acts as a nutritional reserve and energy storage when food can’t be found, and may provide the ability to generate heat to help insulate polar bears from the freezing air and cold water. This fat may also help the bears float in the water. It is 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) thick. Unlike brown bears and black bears, polar bears do not hibernate, and only pregnant females over-winter in dens. While in the den, the pregnant female’s activity level decreases and her metabolism slows down. During this period, she gives birth and nurses her cubs.

Sometimes, when weather conditions are particularly rough, other bears may dig temporary shelters, where they spend several days at a time. The polar bear is the newest of the eight bear species, and scientists believe that the polar bear evolved about 200,000 years ago from brown bear ancestors. Both polar bears and brown bears are big and are the largest land carnivores. But most experts agree that polar bears are the longest bears, as males may measure over 10 feet (3 meters) when standing on their hind legs. Small bumps on the pads of a polar bear’s large, wide paws may add traction and help the bear walk on slippery ice. Polar bears spend their days hunting and sleeping after a good meal. For some, these meals need to last them during the upcoming months when the Arctic ice has melted, and they are forced to spend their days on land waiting for the fall cold to once again form the very important ice. When not hunting, polar bears are resting, perhaps as much as 20 hours a day.

Polar bears are great bed makers, building nest-like beds in seaweed piled up on the coast, digging deep caves of snow into the bluffs, or resting in a shallow snow bed and letting the blowing snow cover them, making for a snug day den. HABITAT AND DIET A polar bear can swim at a speed of up to 6 miles per hour (8 knots). Polar bears live throughout the Arctic, in areas where they can hunt seals in wide cracks in the sea ice or at breathing holes. The taxonomic name for polar bears is Ursus maritimus, which means sea bear, a fitting name for these champion swimmers. They have been known to swim more than 60 miles (about 100 kilometers) without rest in search of food, using their broad front feet for paddling and their back legs like rudders to steer. Unfortunately, due to loss of ice, the bears are now having to swim longer distances, as much as a few hundred miles, which takes a toll on their energy and fat storage. Despite the long, harsh winter, polar bears don’t hibernate. In fact, most of them (except pregnant females) continue to hunt seals throughout the winter.

When the weather is extremely cold and hunting is impossible, bears may seek temporary shelter in show dens until conditions improve. A pregnant female stays in a snow den throughout her pregnancy, the birth of her cubs, and the first few months of the cubs’ life, without leaving the den. Changes in her metabolism allow her to go without food, water, defecation, or urination for as long as eight months. For most mammals, fasting during pregnancy would be life threatening, but the female bear gains a massive amount of weight before she dens. Her stored fat reserves provide all the energy she needs to sustain herself and her cubs. Still, she wakes easily. This process is called winter sleep. Polar bears have no natural enemies. Strong, ferocious, intelligent, and patient hunters, they top the food chain in the Arctic, where they dine primarily on seals. The bears can remain motionless for hours above a seal's breathing hole in the ice, just waiting for a seal to pop up.

The polar bear's nose is so powerful it can smell a seal on the ice 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, sniff out a seal's den that has been covered with snow, and even find a seal's air hole in the ice up to 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away. No wonder many people call them "noses with legs!" Polar bears can see well underwater, spotting potential meals 15 feet (4.6 meters) away. They have a nictitating membrane, or third eyelid, that allows them to see underwater and protects their eyes in blowing snow. Stiff fur on the sole of each foot keeps the bear from slipping on the ice. It also muffles the sound of the bear’s approach when sneaking up on a sleeping seal. It costs a polar bear twice as much energy as most other mammals to move about in its Arctic environment. This helps explain their preference for resting frequently and hunting for seals using ambush techniques rather than stalking their prey. The ringed seal is the polar bear’s main prey, as it is the most numerous seal in the Arctic. One ringed seal provides a polar bear with enough energy for 11 days.

Polar bears typically kill and eat every four to five days. These bears eat just about anything, if they have the opportunity, but it is important to remember that they need access to the high-calorie diet that seals provide. While they will eat walrus, caribou, beached whales, grass, and seaweed, none of these have been shown to provide adequate and reliable nutrition for wild polar bears. Polar bears at the San Diego Zoo get a fortified meat-based commercial carnivore diet, dog kibble, trout and other fish, as well as root vegetables and lettuce as treats. Cow femur bones and thawed rabbits are added once or twice per week. Polar bears get very little nutrition or calories from vegetables, so these items are offered as treats, and the whole carrots keep their teeth clean. FAMILY LIFE A polar bear cub stays with its mother until it is about two years old. Polar bears are highly intelligent and playful. In the wild, two or more bears sometimes form “friendships” that last for weeks or even years. These bears wrestle as a form of play and may also feed and travel together.

Individual polar bears have been observed sliding repeatedly downhill or across ice for no apparent reason other than just for the fun of it! Polar bears are fairly quiet animals. Females and cubs in the den make a pulsating hum. These calls are most frequent in a cub’s first few months. Young bears also make a chuffing call to each other, which is infrequent in adult bears. Except for females with cubs, polar bears are solitary. Sometimes several bears scavenge together at a whale carcass or human garbage dump. Dominance is based on size, but for the most part, each animal behaves independently. Polar bears have large, overlapping home ranges and are faithful to general geographic regions, but they don’t defend territories. Each spring, beginning in about March, adult males begin to search for mates. Incredible as it may seem, researchers suspect that males detect the scent of a female in the footprints she makes in the snow! Once a male finds a receptive female, the two bears remain together for about two weeks. A fertilized polar bear egg doesn’t implant or develop right away. Instead, it implants when triggered by the female’s body condition and environmental factors, most often between September and November.

This is known as delayed implantation, an adaptation that ensures cubs will be born to healthy mothers at a time of year when their chances for survival are greatest. Breeding season for polar bears goes from about March to mid-July. A pregnant female digs a maternity den, usually into a snow bank, in October or November. The den is often no bigger than a telephone booth, but it can be about 40 degrees warmer in there. The female gives birth to one to three cubs, usually twins, in December or January. For such a big animal, they sure start out small! Cubs weigh about 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) when born and are hairless and have their eyes closed at birth. They depend on the mother to keep them warm and fed. Milk from polar bear mothers is 36 percent fat, the richest milk of any bear species. This helps the cubs grow quickly, and by April, they weigh more than 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and start exploring with their mother outside the den. At about two years of age, they are ready to be on their own.

AT THE ZOO When the San Diego Zoo received its first polar bear in the summer of 1917, the bear was displayed in a cage, as was typical of zoos of that era. A gift from Ellen Browning Scripps launched construction of some of the world’s first barless enclosures, and by 1926, a new polar bear grotto was complete. The exhibit’s revolutionary design offered amazed visitors close and unobstructed views of three polar bears. Today, our polar bears live in a wonderful tundra habitat complex: the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge. The focal point of the Plunge is, naturally, the pool. From the underwater viewing room, you can see how agile and playful these Arctic bruins really are. In fact, they’re known to swim right up to the glass to check out all the humans on display. Outdoor viewing follows the water level up to the beach area, where two large pits filled with natural substrate and mulch allow the bears to dig around or take a nap—just like they would in the wild. At the Experience Wall, keepers open up the glass panels and interact with a polar bear through a mesh barrier as you stand just feet away.

We’re thrilled to be able to offer this unique connection between humans and polar bears. You may have seen our polar bears in person or on our popular Polar Cam , but how well do you know our terrific trio—Chinook, Kalluk, and Tatqiq? Kalluk and Tatqiq, a brother and sister pair, were only a few months old when they arrived at the San Diego Zoo in March of 2001 from Alaska. Their mother had been wearing a radio collar for research purposes. When a sensor went off on her radio collar, the researchers went to check on her and her cubs. They found that she had been shot and killed, and her cubs were rescued. Since they were so young, they would not have survived without their mother and were soon transferred here, where they have lived ever since. Chinook also came to us as an orphan, but we do not know what happened to her mother. She was already around one year old when she came to the Zoo in May 1996. Today, Kalluk is our biggest bear; he weighs around 1,280 pounds (581 kilograms) and is also the tallest of the three.

When he stands with all four feet on the ground, he is eye level with you if you are 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. But when he stands up on his hind feet, he reaches over 10 feet (3 meters)! Chinook and Tatqiq are much smaller because they are females. Chinook weighs around 660 pounds (299 kilograms) and Tatqiq weighs around 580 pounds (263 kilograms). Chinook is a little rounder and shorter than Tatqiq. All three love to swim and play, and to explore the vegetation and ever-changing enrichment items keepers provide throughout the Polar Bear Plunge exhibit. At Polar Bear Plunge, guests get a chance to explore the world of the polar bear through interactive elements. Four-D models of the Arctic ice from 1989 and 2007 show what’s happening to the polar bear’s habitat, and guests can check out our large carbon graph, which shows what recorded carbon dioxide levels have been historically and compares them to where they are today.

Our hope is that by exploring the polar bear, its lifestyle, and conservation challenges through the elements of Polar Bear Plunge, Zoo visitors will become more aware of the impact of their daily choices and empowered to make changes that will benefit them and wildlife around the world. CONSERVATION The polar bear's habitat is in peril. The polar bear is uniquely adapted to life on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, and for millennia they have roamed the vast and pristine circumpolar Arctic relatively undisturbed by human activities. However, climate change has created a conservation crisis for this iconic species, and their persistence in the wild is jeopardized by record-breaking sea ice losses and increasing industrial-scale human activity. In areas where the sea ice melts completely, polar bears must move ashore in the summer. They may scavenge to avoid starving, or they may fast until ice forms again. In some places, these bears have learned to eat at garbage dumps. They could be injured or poisoned by trash, and it puts the bears in close contact with humans. This can be a dangerous situation for both humans and bears. For nearly a decade, San Diego Zoo Global's researchers and our US and Canadian partners have focused on developing the best conservation strategies to boost their wild populations.

Every detail matters: reproduction, denning, communication, available prey, formation of sea ice, climate change, and the impact of human activities are all evaluated. We are helping the U.S. Geological Survey of Alaska by having one of our polar bears, Tatqiq, wear an accelerometer collar to track her movements. Measuring Tatqiq’s movements at the Zoo will provide a baseline by which to identify behaviors for bears wearing the accelerometer collars in the wild. The data gained from accelerometers on collared polar bears in the Arctic will provide U.S. Geological Survey scientists with new insights into the bears' daily behavior, movements and energy needs, and a better understanding of the effects of climate change on polar bears. Today, it is estimated that there are 22,000 to 27,000 polar bears throughout the Arctic. Polar bears still need our help. People must continue to give these bears large, safe places to live and try to keep the environment clean and free of pesticides that could poison the bear's food. We believe an Arctic without polar bears is simply unthinkable! You can help us bring polar bears back from the brink by supporting the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy .

Together we can save and protect wildlife around the globe. Sounds polar bear | Basic Facts About Polar Bears | Defenders of Wildlife Polar Bear Basic Facts About Polar Bears Polar bears are the largest land carnivores in the world, rivaled only by the Kodiak brown bears of southwestern Alaska. Polar bears sit at the top of the food chain in the biologically rich Arctic. The most carnivorous of the bear species, polar bears feed primarily on the fat of ice-dependent seals. The remains of these seals provide food for many other Arctic wildlife species, giving polar bears a vital role in their ecosystem. Polar bears are marine mammals, and spend much of their time on Arctic sea ice. Many adaptations make polar bears uniquely suited to life in icy habitats. Their fur is thicker than any other bears’ and covers even their feet for warmth and traction on ice. A thick layer of blubber beneath their fur provides buoyancy and insulation. The long neck and narrow skull of the polar bear probably aid in streamlining the animal in the water while warming the air that they breathe, and their front feet are large, flat and oar-like, making them excellent swimmers. Did You Know?

Polar bears have black skin to absorb heat, but their fur appears white to blend in with their environment. Diet Polar bears feed almost exclusively on ringed seals and bearded seals. They are also known to eat walrus , beluga whale and bowhead whale carcasses, birds’ eggs, and (rarely) vegetation. Polar bears travel great distances in search of prey. Population The World Conservation Union (IUCN) estimates that there are between 20,000-25,000 polar bears in the world. Range & Habitat Polar bears are only found in the Arctic. The most important habitats for polar bears are the edges of pack ice where currents and wind interact, forming a continually melting and refreezing matrix of ice patches and leads (open spaces in the ocean between sea ice). These are the areas of where polar bears can find the greatest number of seals. As the sea ice advances and retreats each season, individual polar bears may travel thousands of miles per year to find food. Polar bears are distributed throughout the Arctic region in 19 subpopulations, including Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway. Did You Know?

The polar bear is the largest and most carnivorous member of the bear family. Behavior Polar bears are highly dependent on older stable pack ice in the Arctic region, where they spend much of their time on the ice hunting, mating and denning. They are generally solitary as adults, except during breeding and cub rearing. Polar bears are strong swimmers, and individuals have been seen in open Arctic waters as far as 200 miles from land, although swimming long distances is not preferred since it requires so much energy for adults and can be fatal to younger bears. Unlike brown bears, males and non-breeding females do not hibernate in the winter. Did You Know? At birth, polar bear cubs are 12 to 14 inches long and weigh around one pound. Reproduction Pregnant polar bears need to eat a lot in the summer and fall build up enough fat reserves to survive the denning period. They seek out maternity dens in October or November. Most maternity dens are located on land where snow accumulates including along coastal bluffs, river banks or pressure ridges on sea ice.

Sows give birth to usually 1 or 2 one-pound cubs and then nurse them until they reach about 20-30 pounds before emerging from the den in March or April. The young are born from November through January while the mothers are hibernating. Cubs will remain with their mothers for a little over 2 years. Female polar bears can produce five litters in their lifetime, which is one of the lowest reproductive rates of any mammal. Mating Season: Late March - May Gestation: About 8 months with delayed implantation Litter size: 1 - 4 cubs; though 1 or 2 cubs is most common Polar Bear | Species | WWF Polar Bear e Habitats Arctic sea ice Polar bears are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean. They have a thick layer of body fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them from the cold air and water. Considered talented swimmers, they can sustain a pace of six miles per hour by paddling with their front paws and holding their hind legs flat like a rudder.

Polar bears spend over 50% of their time hunting for food, but less than 2% of their hunts are successful. Their diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat to survive. The total polar bear population is divided into 19 units or subpopulations. Of those, the latest data from the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group show that three subpopulations are in decline and that there is a high estimated risk of future decline due to climate change. Because of ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US under the Endangered Species Act in May 2008. The survival and the protection of the polar bear habitat are urgent issues for WWF. This map shows the 19 subpopulations of polar bears across the Arctic. Places US permanently protects some of the Arctic's most important marine areas Just one week after scientists warned of unprecedented change brought on by warming in the Arctic, President Obama announced permanent protection for 115 million acres of federal waters in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

Including previous presidential withdrawals, today's action protects nearly 125 million acres in the offshore Arctic from future oil and gas activity. Why They Matter Importance of polar bears Polar bears are at the top of the food chain and have an important role in the overall health of the marine environment. Over thousands of years, polar bears have also been an important part of the cultures and economies of Arctic peoples. Polar bears depend on sea ice for their existence and are directly impacted by climate change—serving as an important indicator species. Threats No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died EW Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population CR Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Wild EN Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild VU Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild NT Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future LC Least Concern Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened The loss of sea ice habitat from climate change is the biggest threat to the survival of polar bears. Other key threats include polar bear-human conflicts, overharvesting and industrial impacts.

Effects of Climate Change Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals, rest and breed. For more than 20 years the summer sea ice has been decreasing in size and melting for longer periods of time. Bears must move longer distances to stay with the rapidly receding ice. In most areas, they come ashore when ice melts and rely on fat stores until the ice refreezes so they can go back out to hunt. Some polar bears, especially in the south of their range where sea ice is gone longest, now suffer from malnutrition. In extreme cases—especially females with cubs— they may face starvation. Traditional prey species may be less accessible in a new sea ice environment, and seals that use the ice are predicted to fare poorly in the warming Arctic region. Climate change is also resulting in more habitat fragmentation. As Arctic ice melts, polar bears are affected by increased shipping activities and a rise in opportunities for oil and gas development. Polar bear- Human Conflicts As climate change forces polar bears to spend longer time onshore, they come in contact more often with Arctic coastal communities and others working in the Arctic. Unfortunately, these interactions sometimes end badly for both humans and bears.

Industrial impacts In the Arctic, most industrial development has been on relatively small pieces of land. As summer sea ice retreats, a new ocean is emerging, which allows more opportunities for industrial development at sea and on larger parcels of land. At the same time, the retreating ice is resulting in more polar bears spending longer periods on land for denning. These factors combined are putting polar bears and industrial activities on a potential collision course. Offshore petroleum installations and operations in the Arctic are expected to increase in number. This expansion would likely affect polar bears and their habitat in many ways, including the following: Contact with spilled oil would be fatal. An oil spill would affect the entire food chain. Noise generated from onshore and offshore oil operations would cause disturbance. Increased Arctic shipping represents a risk to polar bears. As traffic by barges, oil tankers and cargo ships in Arctic waters increases, so do the risk of oil spills and human disturbance to polar bears. Unsustainable Hunting Many Arctic areas have strong polar bear management and monitoring plans. But there are a few places where unsustainable hunting appears to be happening, including unreported and illegal hunting. Hunting is also occurring in areas where the subpopulation status—stable or declining—is uncertain.

What WWF Is Doing As climate change forces polar bears to spend longer time onshore, they come in contact more often with Arctic communities. Unfortunately, these interactions sometimes end badly for humans and bears. In Russia and Alaska, WWF addresses this challenge by supporting local efforts to protect people and polar bears. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of involving local people to protect polar bears and communities. Protecting the Last Ice Area of the Arctic Scientists believe that a natural safety net of ice in the High Arctic of Canada and Greenland covering 320 million acres—or twice the size of Texas—may persist longer than the ice anywhere else. Since 1992, WWF has been working with partners to sustainably preserve the rich biodiversity of this region. Now, WWF works with local people to establish an appropriate management plan for this “last ice area” in Canada and Greenland. This plan could provide many benefits, such as conserving habitat for Arctic ice dependent species and protecting the cultural heritage and economies of local communities. Addressing climate change WWF advocates directly for governments to recognize and mitigate the effects of climate change on polar bears.

At meetings with governments whose countries are in the polar bear range, WWF has successfully pushed for a statement formally recognizing the urgent need for an effective global response that will address the challenges of climate change. WWF has also successfully advocated for the creation of an international polar bear management plan. Reducing conflict WWF supports community projects in Alaska and Russia to prevent unintended and potentially fatal encounters between polar bears and people. Local polar bear patrol teams help keep towns and bears safe. Better lighting near public places, electric fencing, bear-proof food storage containers and warning plans for when bears enter communities all help reduce conflict. We bring Arctic communities together to share their expertise on effective nonlethal deterrence methods. We advocate for deterrence tools such as pepper spray to protect both people and bears. Such methods are proving effective. For example, in northern Canada's Hudson Bay area, for the first time in recent years, no polar bears were killed to protect the community during 2012. Monitoring populations Scientists are currently monitoring the conditions and movement of polar bears in the US, Canadian and Norwegian regions of the Arctic.

WWF and our partners are working to understand the impact that different threats, such as climate change and the expansion of industry in the Arctic, are having on different polar bear populations. For many years, we have run a polar bear tracker , using data from WWF-supported researcher teams to monitor some of the animals by satellite. By tracking these bears, scientists can map a polar bear's range and examine how habitat use may change in response to shifting sea ice. This information reveals changes and adaptations over time. WWF also provides funding for polar bear researchers to travel to Russia and the US to share and exchange scientific information about polar bears with other researchers. WWF recently worked with scientists at SPYGEN, a DNA specialist firm, to pioneer an innovative tool that can extract DNA from a polar bear footprint . Reducing industrial impacts WWF’s goal is to ensure that wherever industrial development takes place, it is sustainable and does not damage wildlife populations and ecosystems to any great extent. We offer technical expertise on oil spill prevention and response. We also advocate for the highest development standards through national and international venues. WWF collaborates with scientists, conservationists and local people to oppose oil and gas development in areas whose ecological value is far too great for risking exposure to spills.

To help maritime vessels stay clear of ecologically fragile places, WWF is preparing sensitivity maps for areas of the Arctic. We have also offered best practices for shipping in the Arctic and continue to work at the International Maritime Organization on a polar code that would make Arctic shipping safer. Polar bear habitat | WWF Donate to polar bears Polar bear habitat The polar bear's Latin name, Ursus maritimus, means 'sea bear - an apt name for this amazing species which spends much of its life in, around, or on the ocean. Polar bears are found throughout the circumpolar Arctic. They're frequently seen along or near coasts and on islands, but they spend the majority of their lives on the sea ice. Life on sea ice Sea ice is vital to polar bears. It provides a platform for them to hunt, live, breed, and in some cases, create maternal dens. But sea ice is more than a simple platform: it is an entire ecosystem inhabited by plankton and micro-organisms, which support a rich food chain that nourishes seals, that in turn become prey for polar bears. It is the very foundation and defining characteristic of the Arctic marine ecosystem.

Life off the sea ice As sea ice decreases at a rate of about 4.6% a decade, some polar bears at the southern edges of the species' range are spending five to six months on land, with very few seals to eat. Without sea ice and seals, polar bears are left to search for other food sources. This can lead them into communities, where garbage dumps, sled dog yards and human food storage offer easy pickings. Bears in communities often create conflict between bears and people – bears threaten the safety of people and their property. Communities, government and WWF are working together to keep both bears and people safe . Polar Bear population status as of 2014. © Polar Bear Technical Committee / IUCN Where polar bears are found, and their current status. Learn more about the status of polar bears. What's happening to sea ice? As the climate warms, Arctic sea ice is disappearing. Almost every summer, the amount of remaining ice gets smaller. The oldest ice has essentially disappeared.

Question: What is the main diet of polar bears
Answer: Seals